Today's Sports

It began with optimism but it has slowly declined into a losing skid.
The 2016-17 season began with bundles of promise for the Los Alamos girls basketball team and its seven seniors. With first year head coach Josh Archuleta taking over a team that lost a lot of talent from the previous season, it was evident that the Hilltoppers were going to have a few bumps on the road to extending to its two-decade state tournament appearance run.
But so far in 2016-17, those bumps became more like mountains. And Los Alamos is slipping down those mountains with every step it takes.
The Hilltoppers started the season by winning the games it was supposed to win, beating St. Michael’s, Pojoaque Valley and Belen. But a lack of size and a daunting scheduled have caused Los Alamos to lose eight straight games and enter Christmas break at 3-10 overall.
During that eight game losing streak, Los Alamos faced four Class 6A teams, the state’s No. 1 ranked team and two tough Class 5A opponents. It also lost its leading scorer Ashley Logan with a season-ending knee injury.
The bright spots for the Hilltoppers have been on the defensive end. Los Alamos has allowed fewer than 40 points in five games this season, as seniors Sienna Ahlers, Elena Abeyta, Shannon Irwin and Isabell Larribas have provided solid minutes.

Los Alamos has a rich history of providing spectacular prep sports moments the entire year. And 2016 wasn’t any different.
The following moments highlighted another memorable year of Hilltopper sports.
LA hockey wins pure championship
The Los Alamos hockey team ended the 2015-16 season by defeating Taos 2-1 in the New Mexico pure hockey championship in March.
It was the third meeting of the season between the two longtime rivals and the championship game capped off another tight encounter in the series history.
During that game Los Alamos got off to a 2-0 lead during the third period and was able to fend off a Taos comeback in the final minutes. The win gave Los Alamos the North Star trophy, which is given to the winner of each game of the Taos-Los Alamos series.
Los Alamos still holds the trophy as it defeated Taos in this season’s opener. Both teams will face each other on Monday at the Los Alamos County Ice Rink.
Last-second magic in the Valley
It took a bit of magic for the Los Alamos football team to extend its winning streak against rival Española Valley.
Down 34-29 with seven seconds left, Hilltoppers quarterback Nick Quartieri took the snap and roll to his left and found receiver Kevin Maresca all alone in the end zone to seal the 35-34 victory.

The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team opened up Mountain West action with a 78-73 win over Fresno State Wednesday night inside WisePies Arena. The Lobos improve to 8-5 on the season and 1-0 in the Mountain West.
The victory was the seventh straight win inside The Pit this season, the eighth straight MW opening win inside The Pit and sixth straight MW opening win for the Lobos.
“I thought this was a really good game for all of our guys,” said UNM head coach Craig Neal. “It was a really good indication about the fight we have as a group and the effort they play with. Many guys were able to come back in and get us our first win in the conference.”
Elijah Brown led the Lobos in the scoring column, finishing with 19 points. He was 14-for-14 from the foul line which is third best in program history. He also added three assists. Tim Williams put together 18 points, a team-leading seven rebounds and a season-high, team-leading four assists. He shot 7-for-15 from the field.
It was the first time the Lobos had four players in double-digits since the Cal State Northridge game at the Wooden Legacy Classic. Along with Brown and Williams, Obij Aget and Dane Kuiper both finished with at least 10 points, 12 and 10 respectively. Jalen Harris finished with nine points and three assists.

Mother Nature is beginning to do its part.
After receiving more than 20 inches of snow in the past two weeks, Pajarito Mountain Ski Area opened almost 100 percent of its ski hill for skiing and snowboarding operations.
On Tuesday, Pajarito added five more runs including Daisy Mae, Li’l Abner, Dog Patch, Sundance and Bonanza. The following day, the ski hill opened Big Mother, Little Mother, Sidewinder, Precious, Breathless, Rim Rum, Why Not to Zero Road West, One More Time to Zero Road West and I Don’t to Zero Road West.
“Our mountain crew has been working overtime track-packing and grooming the slopes to open up as much of the mountain as possible,” said Pajarito manager Tom Long.
It was Pajarito’s most thrilled week of the season, as the ski hill will temporarily close on Monday for snow making purposes.
Torchlight Parade set for Saturday
Pajarito’s annual New Year’s Eve Torchlight Parade is scheduled for sundown on Saturday.

New Mexico experienced a plethora of memorable and exciting occurrences in the past 12 months. From both Division I universities experiencing individual accomplishments, to prep teams providing excitement for fans.
The following five moments prove that sports are alive and well in New Mexico.
Siakam gets picked in NBA Draft first round
New Mexico State star Pascal Siakam was drafted 27th overall in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors.
Siakam, who left NMSU after his sophomore season, became the third Aggie to be selected in the first round. He was also the first NMSU player drafted in 25 years.
Siakam has had a solid rookie season so far playing in 18.2 minutes per game and scoring 5.3 point per game. He’s also played every game this season and started the season opener.
Lobos win nine games in 2016 season
The University of New Mexico football team had its best season since 2007.
The Lobos completed the nine-win season with a 23-20 win against UTSA in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl on Dec. 17. It was UNM’s third bowl victory in school history.
It was a happy ending to a mostly enjoyable season for the Lobos. It could’ve been more charming but gut-wrenching losses to New Mexico State and Rutgers left UNM faithful wondering what could’ve been.

The Los Alamos boys basketball team will get another opportunity to make a name for itself in Class 5A.
The Hilltoppers open the Poe Corn Invitational against Belen at 6 p.m. tonight in Roswell.
“That’s a good 5A tournament,” Los Alamos coach Mike Kluk said. “If we can come out of there with a couple of wins, that’ll help our confidence. It’s a big tournament for us. We can gain some respect or we can lose some respect.”
Los Alamos (4-4) is riding a two-game losing streak, while Belen is 8-1 and has won its last five. Tonight’s matchup will be one of the Hilltoppers toughest tasks this season, as the Eagles have impressive wins against Alamogordo and Roswell and won its hosted Hub City Tournament. Los Alamos also participated in the Hub City Tournament and placed in seventh.
Belen’s quick start has placed the Eagles on the list of Class 5A contenders, while Los Alamos got off to a 3-0 start but a couple of setbacks against St. Pius and Eldorado have ensured that the Hilltoppers need a good showing in Roswell to be considered a legitimate contender.
Los Alamos and Belen have played each other the last seven seasons with the Eagles holding a 4-3 edge during that span.

After dropping a tough 6-4 decision on Friday against NM Ice U-16, the Los Alamos hockey team came back with a 12-0 victory on Saturday and a 7-2 win on Sunday against Odessa. The Hilltoppers are back in action on Jan. 4, when they’ll host Santa Fe at 5:30 p.m. at the Los Alamos County Ice Rink. JOHN MCHALE/Monitor

The Los Alamos girls basketball team fell to 3-10 on the season after dropping a tightly contested game to Artesia 45-44 on Saturday at Griffith Gym.
The Hilltoppers trailed by 10 entering the final quarter. An Ashley Antencio foul-and-bucket cut the Artesia lead to 43-37 with 3:35 left in regulation. A pair of Isabell Larribas free throws inched the Hilltoppers within four points. The Bulldogs got a 45-41 edge before Elena Abeyta hit two free throws and a triple to make it 45-44 with 11 seconds left.
After Artesia missed a free throw attempt on the other end, Los Alamos snatched the rebound and Abeyta made her way down the court and put up a lay up attempt that only hit the backboard and didn’t give the Hilltoppers the buzzer-beating win.
Los Alamos started strong and got off to a 6-1 start and led 7-5 after the first quarter. The Bulldogs took their first lead of the game with 2:07 left in the second quarter and had a 23-21 advantage at halftime.
Artesia went on a 15-5 run midway through the third quarter that helped it lead 41-31 after 24 minutes.
Abeyta finished with a team-high 19 points, while Atencio snatched a team-high seven rebounds for Los Alamos.
The Hilltoppers are off until Jan. 5, when they’ll begin play in the Aztec Tournament.

It was evenly matched for 16 minutes.
Then, Eldorado switched to a full-court pressure defense that dismantled the Los Alamos boys basketball team’s rhythm.
That second-half adjustment helped Eldorado claim a 63-44 victory against the Hilltoppers Friday night at Griffith Gym.
“They (Los Alamos) thought that once we stayed with them for a few minutes, we would be in it,” Hilltoppers coach Mike Kluk said. “There was a bit of fatigue settling in from playing two nights in a row. They (Eldorado) picked up the pressure and once they got their legs under them, they just kept rolling.”
Los Alamos fell to 4-4 overall, while the Eagles improved to 3-1 on the season.
The Eagles only led 26-23 halftime, as the Hilltoppers were having success defending one of the few teams that matched up in size with Los Alamos. The Hilltoppers also had success getting the ball inside on the offensive end.
“We came out with some intensity,” Kluk said. “We trying to be tougher tonight and for a half I thought we were fairly tough. But when things got down, I think our toughness went away. We just have to keep working on that.”

The Los Alamos girls basketball team suffered its seventh straight loss after dropping a heartbreaking 39-35 decision against St. Pius on Thursday in Albuquerque.
The Hilltoppers fell to 3-9 on the season and will host Artesia at 3:30 p.m. Saturday (Dec. 17) at Griffith Gym. Los Alamos improved defensively after giving up 62 points per game in its previous three outings. The 39 points were the fewest the Hilltoppers allowed since giving 32 against Valencia on Dec. 3.
Los Alamos is allowing 46.4 points per game, compared to scoring 34.4 points per game on offense.
Scouting Artesia: The Bulldogs will be playing their second game in as many days, as they faced Capital on Friday. Prior to Friday’s game, Artesia was 3-1 on the season with wins against Santa Teresa, Ruidoso and Silver. The Bulldogs lone loss of the season came against Class 6A’s No. 1 Carlsbad.